News Hub News
Are the NDIA and their external lawyers being ‘model litigants’? Are they on their best behaviour with you at the AAT?
If people with disability don’t get what they need from the NDIS they might have to take their case against the NDIA to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The NDIA and their external lawyers are meant to follow ‘model litigant obligations’ – which are rules about being really decent and fair. If they don’t, there can be a big power imbalance, which is really unfair for people with disability. We want the NDIA to act like model litigants each and every time – but we need your help to make sure it really happens…
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What can we expect from the new chair of the NDIA Kurt Fearnley?
Our friend Dr George Taleporos sat down with the new Chair of the National Disability Insurance Agency, Kurt Fearnley, for his latest episode of Reasonable and Necessary. He finds out why Kurt took on the job, and what we can expect from his leadership of the Agency.
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What’s happening with NDIS AAT appeals? Recap: online forum with NDIS Minister Bill Shorten and NDIA Chief Counsel Matthew Swainson
Did you catch our live forum about NDIS AAT appeals with NDIS Minister Bill Shorten and NDIA Chief Counsel Matthew Swainson? You can find a quick summary, as well as the video recordings and the transcript right here.
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NDIS Minister Bill Shorten’s announcement on the new NDIA CEO, Board Chair and Board Members
Today Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten has announced five new people who will all play important roles in running the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) – a new CEO, a new Board Chair, and three new Board Members. They start on Monday, October 17, 2022. Find the details from the announcement right here…
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Which NDIS recommendations has the Federal Government actually delivered on?
How many? Which ones? Why? We know a lot of those recommendations were made because of you. You have made thousands of submissions via us – and directly to the inquiries over the years. So how many of the recommended changes were actually made? What has been ignored and forgotten? Thanks to a new tool from our friends at Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), it’s easier than ever to find out…
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Inquiries into NDIS, Independent Assessments, and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission have been released by the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS
A huge report on NDIS independent assessments has just been released. Here’s our very quick summary of what the Joint Standing Committee said they heard, and what they recommend the Federal Government and NDIA should do next.
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Left behind – disabled people and the COVID vaccine
A new report from the Disability Royal Commission into the COVID vaccine rollout is just the latest in a long list of documented failures by governments to address the needs and rights of disabled people. In the race to “open up”, governments must prioritise the needs of disabled people and do a much better job of engaging with the expertise of disabled people and the sector’s organisations, says El Gibbs, an award-winning writer and disability rights advocate.
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Support for decision making and the NDIS
The NDIA have just given everyone an extra two weeks to tell them what they think about support for decision making in the NDIS. We asked our friend Catherine McAlpine from Inclusion Australia to tell us what people with intellectual disability and their families think needs to change, and what Inclusion Australia is already working on.
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You did this! NDIS compulsory assessments have officially been dumped
Last Friday, Minister for the NDIS Linda Reynolds met with each of the state and territory Disability Ministers, to ask them to support her plans for the biggest changes to the NDIS since it started – including compulsory ‘independent’ assessments.
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Explainer: What changes to look out for in the NDIS Amendment Bill
What are the top 5 big issues we can expect to see in the new NDIS legislation? We’ve all heard plenty about compulsory assessments – but what other changes to the NDIS are going to be hiding in there? Our friend Chadwick – who is a Senior Solicitor from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre – has very helpfully written an explainer to try and make it as easy as possible for people who are not experts in law to understand.
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“Stop independent assessments. Sack the CEO. Sack the Board.” Catch the blistering NDIS speech from disability advocate Kevin Stone
“The NDIA is at risk of turning people with a disability and families, who have been the Scheme’s greatest supporter and most important ally, into a desperate and angry enemy.” Kevin Stone, the highly-regarded intellectual disability advocate has delivered a blistering speech on the NDIS – calling not just for independent assessments to be scrapped – but also for the NDIA CEO and Board to be sacked. Watch the video, read the transcript – or join the fight here.
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Are the proposed Independent Assessment tools capable of informing funding decisions in NDIS participant plans?
What’s wrong with NDIS independent assessments? We asked our friend Muriel Cummins from Occupational Therapy Australia’s NDIS Taskforce to help explain why the selected assessment tools are not fit-for-purpose, and why they should not be used to determine plan funding.
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Your chance to speak at NDIS independent assessments hearings
The Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS is currently holding an inquiry into NDIS independent assessments. The committee wants people with disability and families to make 5-10 minute statements at their upcoming hearings. Here’s how you can get involved.
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NDIS compulsory assessments paused – but the fight for the NDIS is far from over
Many thousands of people with disability, family members and supporters have spoken out in recent months about their fear and anger about the planned changes to the NDIS. Today we have SOME good news from the federal government – but there is still a long way to go.
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Joint media statement from disability advocacy organisations on NDIS assessments
We welcome reports that NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds will pause a plan to force people with disability to submit to compulsory assessments to access support, but want to see much more detail about what that means for the future of the NDIS.
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I quit my job with the NDIS in protest against independent assessments
“We are not being listened to and I have had enough.” Carl Thompson has just quit his job as an NDIS Local Area Coordinator out of anger and frustration with the National Disability Insurance Agency.
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Proposed changes to NDIS intervention for autistic children
The NDIA’s latest consultation paper on autistic kids is about more than early intervention like the title suggests. It proposes rigid and fixed funding blocks for children’s NDIS plans, well below averages in Nick Avery’s region. Nick wants you to know why this consultation is so alarming – and encourages you to provide feedback.
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NDIS Autism consultations are “futile and frustrating” – this new consultation is a case in point
Late yesterday afternoon on Stuart Robert’s last day as NDIS Minister, the NDIA released a new consultation paper called “Interventions for children on the autism spectrum”. The paper proposes radical new changes to NDIS funding and supports for Autistic children. Katharine Annear explains why this consultation paper has Autistic people outraged.
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A list of the online news about NDIS compulsory assessements
Your concerns about changes to the NDIS are being heard. On March 11 the disability sector released a joint statement of concern. Since then the media about our community’s concerns hasn’t stopped. It has been hard to keep track of – so we are putting all the links together here to help make it easier.
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Making noise on NDIS compulsory assessments – MPs, Senators and the media
We really made some noise! More than 4,000 of you have spoken out against NDIS compulsory assessments using this website. 100+ organisations have endorsed the Joint sector statement. Our elected representatives are hearing our side of the story. And hundreds of thousands – if not millions of people right across the country have heard our calls through the media. Together our voices are stronger. And together we are making a lot of noise.
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An Open letter to Minister for the NDIS Stuart Robert
Dr George Taleporos thought long and hard about accepting the NDIA’s invitation to take part in the pilot of the new NDIS assessment process. He understands why everyone is concerned about the introduction of these new compulsory assessments and all the changes to the NDIS planning process. But in the end he hoped he could make a difference by providing detailed feedback about what the process was like. But now with the assessment complete George has a message for the Minister for the NDIS. And that message is stop – and come and talk to us about what should come next.
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Disability sector statement on the Australian Government’s planned reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
People with disability, their families and the organisations that represent them are all worried about changes the Australian Government wants to make to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
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NDIA announce compulsory assessment contractors three days after closing submissions
More breaking news from the NDIS this morning…
This time about the new compulsory assessments.
The NDIA have just announced the organisations who have been contracted to carry out the assessments when they start later in the year.
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“My NDIS ‘Independent Assessment’ was a nightmare”
“As an autistic person this petrifies me. The NDIS assessors don’t want to hear outside the boxes of ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I can only imagine how bad this will be for people who can’t articulate their needs well. We need to fight and make ourselves heard.”
Aaron Carpenter volunteered to take part in the pilot of the new “independent assessments” being introduced to the NDIS later this year. His experience was a “nightmare”. He wants everyone to know what went wrong – and why we can’t let this go ahead.
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